Singapore Airlines Crash: 79 Die in Taipei Collision
Singapore Airlines Flight 006, a Boeing 747-400 carrying 179 people, attempted to take off from runway 05R at Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek Airport on October 31, 2000, during Typhoon Xangsane. Runway 05R was closed for construction, with concrete barriers, equipment, and excavated sections blocking the path. The crew had been cleared for runway 05L but mistakenly taxied to the parallel closed runway. At 150 knots, the aircraft struck construction equipment and broke apart in a fireball. Eighty-three of the 179 occupants died, including all four people in the cockpit. The investigation revealed that runway signage was confusing and that no ground radar warning was given. The disaster led to worldwide reforms in runway signage standards, ground movement radar requirements, and cockpit procedures for verifying runway identity.
October 31, 2000
26 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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